11:15 am - Montana Beef Council will be providing a Healthy Meal at Home Cooking Demonstration

Meet Our Survivors

Heidi Stewart | University of Montana-Student

Heidi might look like your average college student at the University of Montana but looks can be deceiving. Heidi is a survivor.

Growing up, Heidi was extremely active and her passion for swimming, starting at age 8, had a lasting flame for 10 years. Everything in Heidi’s world was fine until February 12th, 2013. Heidi collapsed in her high school office after she had felt fatigue and weak all day. Within moments of her collapsing CPR was being administered and the school AED was being used.

The doctors found nothing wrong with Heidi through the standard cardiac testing but insisted on her having an MRI to make sure there was no brain damage. This is when they discovered the problem.

Arhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia/ Cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C). ARVD is a form of cardiomyopathy in which the heart muscle of the right ventricle is replaced by a fibrous tissue. The right ventricle is dilated and contracts poorly. As a result, the ability of the heart to pump blood is weakened.

On February 14th, 2013 in order to regulate the ARVD an Internal Cardiac Defibrillator (ICD) was placed into Heidi’s chest and she was put on two different heart medications. The ICD works as a pacemaker and defibrillator in case of an emergency.

Since Heidi’s diagnosis, she has made many adjustments to her everyday lifestyle. She has found new ways to remain active without putting her life at risk again. Heidi has chosen to become a volunteer and advocate for the AHA because she understands how the important research AHA funds has directly contributed to her heart condition.

Maureen Burke | STEMI Heart Attack Survivor

This could as easily have been an obituary as a biography. Maureen Burke’s story has a happy ending through a fortunate combination of people and resources that saved her life on Jan., 30, 2015.

Maureen grew up in Missoula, the youngest of 12 children. She received degrees in Education and Speech Therapy from Gonzaga University. She and her late husband, Pat McNulty, had two children, whom she considers her ‘heart and soul.’ Patrick and his wife, Katie, both lawyers in Spokane, have two children, Quinn (3) and Margaret (1-1/2). Maureen’s daughter, Katie, married to Matt Wagner, works in cardiac rehab at St. Pete’s in Helena.

After Pat’s death in 2003, Maureen received a second chance at love when she met and married Brent Sutton. Maureen and Brent live in Stevensville, where Maureen works with Brent managing several businesses. It is also where she walks each day along a path from her office to downtown Stevensville, where the warning signs of her STEMI occurred, and where she received a second chance at life.

Heart disease, the #1 killer of women, requires more attention, more research and swifter action. Maureen’s story is one of survival and of the American Heart Association’s lifesaving work in our community.

Like most women, Maureen dismissed her symptoms. Women are busy, women are prone to downplaying their discomforts, and women tend to put others’ needs before their own.

In the hospital, Maureen woke to Brent shouting, “Baby, wake up.” His words to her are a message to all women: Wake up; know the warning signs, pay attention to what your body is telling you, and believe you are important enough to receive the care you give to others.